May Day ILWU Anti-War Protest Shuts Down Ports On West Coast May1-2 News

[1] BREAKING NEWS From the ILC : Members of the Port Workers Union of Iraq plan to shutdown the ports of Umm Qasr and Khor Alzubair for one hour on May Day in solidarity with the shutdown of all West Coast ports by members of ILWU in opposition to the occupation of Iraq.
CONTAINS
[A] May Day Message
From: The General Union of Port Workers in Iraq
To: The International Longshore and Warehouse Union in the United States [lauding intended action to down on US West Coast}
[B] May Day 2008 Statement 
From: The Iraqi Labour Movement
To: The Workers and All Peace Loving People of the World
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.activism.progressive/browse_thread/thread/feec556574447536
[2] ILWU to Shut Down West Coast Ports on Socialist Holiday 
By Matt Smith Published: March 12, 2008
 http://www.sfweekly.com/2008-03-12/news/may-day-work-stoppage
On May 1, the usually bustling ports along the West Coast will become still, as members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) stop work during the day shift to protest the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.[The rhetoric of] Jack Heyman, an executive board member of SanFrancisco's ILWU Local 10, ...and a prominent antiwar activist won  the day. Union rank and file took a vote and made it official: During the eight-hour day shift on May 1, portside traffic in goods between the U.S. and Asia will cease. 
[3] ILWU To Shut Down All West Coast Ports To Protest War  Sat Apr 26 2008 ILWU May Day Work Stoppage On May 1, all 29 ports on the U.S. West Coast are to be shut down bythe International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) in protest against the U.S. war on Afghanistan and Iraq. The Bay Area ILWU local was the first American union to condemn the war
[4] Cynthia McKinney in Bay Area for May Day 
Sister Cynthia McKinney will be in the San Francisco Bay Area for the May Day protest actions.Sister McKinney will begin the day with remarks at 10:30 a.m. at the ILWU headquarters on Fisherman's Wharf (Mason & Beach).....http://bapd.org/n9792.html 

 5] ILWU shuts down docks for May Day. Larry Bradshaw and Lorrie Beth Slonsky report on plans for the West Coast dockworkers' antiwar action. April 25, 2008 | Issue 670 
OAKLAND, Calif.--On May Day 2008, container ships will sit idle at all 29 ports on the West coast ..Every dock in California, Oregon and Washington will grow quiet as 25,000 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) lay down their tools and walk off the job "to demand an immediate end to the war and occupation in Iraq and Afghanistan and the withdrawal of troops from the Middle East."

 [6] United for Peace of Pierce County - website notes:
ACTIVISM: Tacoma support actions for ILWU May 1 shutdown of West Coast ports Written by Abe DeJamminen Tuesday, 29 April 2008 The International Longshore & Warehouse Union has confirmed its decision to shut down the ports of the entire West Coast of the United States on Thurs., May 1, in protest of the Iraq war. -- The ILWU web site is not calling attention to the shut-down, but it is mentioned on p. 2 of the April newsletter, Dispatcher. -- Below, Sallie Shawl lists local support actions for the ILWU port shut-down.[1] -- On Saturday, the Bay Area station KCBS reported that the union's "work stoppage request has been denied" by the Pacific Maritime Association, but that "many union members are expecting the ports will be shut down on May 1st."[2] -- The San Francisco Chronicle reported that despite the PMA's refusal, "Craig Merrilees,a spokesman for the ILWU, issued a statement seemingly supportive of a war protest: 'The Longshore Caucus resolution calling on all locals to honor May 1 by taking action to end the war and bring the troops home safely from Iraq continues to move forward. Various voluntary rallies and public demonstrations are scheduled for May Day.' -- The protest was advanced by Jack Heyman, a longshore worker who is a member of the Local 10 Executive Board. He said Friday he expects the ports to be shut down May 1. He added, 'I have never seen our membership so resolute on a given issue.' -- He said it was Vietnam War veterans in the caucus who drove the discussion. -- Steve Getzug, a spokesman for the PMA, said, 'They informed us they had dropped their demand for a stop-work meeting May 1. An arbitrator has ruled they inform their members, and in light of that we hope the day (May 1) will come and go without disruption.' -- Heyman and other organizers said there will be a rally at noon May 1 at Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco. Speakers will include activists Danny Glover, Cindy Sheehan and Daniel Ellsberg." -- The News Tribune (Tacoma, WA) has reported nothing about the May 1action, though it has been in the offing since February....

 * the International Liaison Committee for a Workers International